This is the first article in our Practical Dentistry series, which will present various ways of increasing revenue through offering dental services in the general veterinary practice.

This series will present techniques and procedures that require minimal expense, effort, and training, yet have proven to be invaluable in many practices (general and referral). All of the information and procedures discussed promote good medicine and, therefore, are highly beneficial for the patient as well as the practice.

Why Is Marketing Dental Services Important?

Common Disease with Significant Repercussions

Oral disease is one of the most common diseases in veterinary medicine, but clinical signs are generally subtle or absent.1,2 Patients with dental disease are often in pain despite lack of clinical signs.3,4 In addition, many oral disease processes cause significant localized and systemic medical problems.5-8

Lack of Knowledge = Undertreatment

The general public and veterinary field’s lack of knowledge about dentistry is dramatic. This results in patients being undertreated. Providing proper dental therapy to more patients is good medicine for pets and good business for the practice.

Happy Patients & Clients

A healthy mouth makes a big difference in the health and attitude of your patients. By increasing the pet’s demeanor and quality of life, you will strengthen your relationship with the client.

Loss of Traditional Veterinary Revenue

Over the last decade or so, there has been a significant loss of traditional veterinary revenue streams due to many factors, including improved knowledge and outside competition.

Vaccines: Some immunologists do not feel that annual vaccines are needed.9 While there is still controversy associated with this topic, it has impacted practice income. Better client education on the importance of regular health examinations and wellness assessments, including dental services, can offset changes in vaccination protocols.

Online pharmacies: With the increasing popularity of online pharmacies, significant income is lost from prescription revenue. This trend started with flea control and heartworm prevention products, but now more commonly affects all veterinary prescriptions.

Internet reliance: Increased reliance on the Internet and other sources decreases client trips to the clinic.

1. Increase number of dental procedures performed.

This is the most important of the 4 methods and the quickest way to increase revenue. There are several ways to increase your procedure numbers, but the first and foremost is education.

Client Education: If your dental examination and recommendations consist of glancing in the mouth and saying, “Yes, he needs a dental,” you are not going to do many dental procedures.

The most successful client education comes from the entire staff, including veterinarians, technicians, assistants, and especially receptionists.

The best way for practice owners/managers to get the entire staff on board is to educate the staff and then provide incentives to encourage them to market dental procedures (see Dental Marketing Incentive Plans, page 41).

The receptionists, technicians, assistants, and veterinarians should all be well versed in what a complete dental prophylaxis entails, how it benefits the patient, and how to effectively communicate this information to clients.

Client education should start with existing clients, but then expand to educating the local population of pet owners. There are numerous methods to provide this education, including:

Personal communication from the practice’s staff

Handouts/books (Figure 1)

Websites of veterinary dentists

Your own practice website

Practice newsletter or magazine articles.

Figure 1. Excerpts from books, journals, and other materials can be used for education; however, permission must be requested from the publisher. This page is from Small Animal Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Disease: A Color Handbook. Niemiec BA (ed). London: Manson Publishing, 2010.

Superior equipment: Once the marketing plan is underway and the dental schedule is filling up, superior equipment will speed procedures and increase efficiency.

Old, dull, or damaged equipment not only creates the potential for injury, but is far less effective (Figure 2). For example, damage to the last 1 mm of an ultrasonic scaler tip renders it 25% less efficient, and 2 mm loss results in 50% less efficiency.13

A new drill, ultrasonic scaler, elevator, or curette can markedly cut down on surgical time and increase the number of procedures performed each day. This minor investment can make a big difference.

It is important to note that (1) time is money and (2) decreased anesthetic times are better for patients. If a practice can do 1 more procedure a day, 5 days a week, at an average retail cost of $400, the practice makes an additional $8000 a month. This can easily cover many upgrades in dental equipment.

2. Increase number of dental service options.

Increasing the number of dental service options is one of the easiest ways to increase your clinic’s dental service revenue. The most efficient way to do this is to offer superior basic care, which should include:

These treatment options will greatly increase patient care and practice income without a significant investment of time or money. Most of these topics will be covered individually in detail in future articles in the series.

Figure 5. The author discussing radiographic findings with a client. The detail, size, and ability to “mark” them (ie, with arrows) improves client understanding and compliance with treatment recommendations. Courtesy of vetdentalrad.com.

Professional radiology reviews (by a board-certified dentist) will help increase the number of dental treatments performed because the specialist will be able to determine if any pathology is present that requires treatment.

Due to the large variations in cost and quality of dental radiology systems, prepurchase consults with equipment manufacturers are recommended in order to help the practitioner decide what system is best for the practice.

Complex procedures: I do not recommend that general practitioners perform more difficult procedures, such as root canals, jaw fracture repair, and major oral surgery. Patients should be referred to a dental specialist that has the experience required for successful outcomes. In addition, more income can be generated, with less stress and expense, by spending that time performing office calls and other typical procedures.

Dental Marketing Incentive Plan

Incentives are a great way to get the entire practice staff on board with a marketing program. Financial rewards improve staff morale and camaraderie by setting a common goal that motivates employees both individually and as a team.

Step 1: Establish the revenue increase goal; 20% to 25% is a good goal.

Step 2: Set time frame for the program: 6 months works well. Any shorter is not enough time to establish the program and any longer may endanger staff motivation.

Step 3: Determine the net revenue from dental services. For most practices, this is approximately 50% of the gross gain from dental services.

Step 4: Calculate the amount of revenue that will be generated during the incentive period: If dental services generated $100,000 during the first 6 months of 2011 and you want to increase that by 20%, dental services will need to generate $120,000 during the first 6 months of 2012.

Step 5: Take a percentage of the increased revenue (in this case, 50% or $10,000) and give it to the staff. This could be in the form of a cash bonus or trip (perhaps one that is combined with a continuing education opportunity).

IV fluid administration for hydration support and medication administration.

Figure 7. A properly maintained patient under general anesthesia; note that a circulating warm-water blanket is under the patient and a circulating warm-air blanket on top (the air blanket is normally covered with a towel).

Dentistry is an area of veterinary medicine that offers incredible potential to improve both patient health and clinic revenue. Just by performing proper and thorough dental work, practitioners can greatly increase the overall health of their patients as well as their dental income. A win-win situation for all involved.

Educational Resources for Veterinary Professionals & Clients

Websites

The following websites provide an extensive repertoire of information and educational materials for both veterinary staff and pet owners:

American Veterinary Dental College:avdc.org

American Veterinary Dental Society:avds-online.org

The author is affiliated with the following websites that provide comprehensive dental information to owners and veterinary professionals and teleradiology services for veterinary dentistry, respectively:

Brook A. Niemiec, DVM, FAVD, Diplomate AVDC, is chief of staff of Southern California Veterinary Dental Specialties, with offices in San Diego and Murrieta, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada (dog beachdentistry.com). He has authored many articles and chapters, including the recently published Small Animal Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Disease: A Colour Handbook. Dr. Niemiec founded the veterinary dental telemedicine website vetdentalrad.com, which also offers instructional videos and educational posters. He lectures extensively at national and international conferences and is the coordinator and instructor of the San Diego Veterinary Dental Training Center (vetdentaltraining.com). Dr. Niemiec received his DVM from University of California-Davis.

Vetel is committed to offering the veterinary industry the most efficient and precise equipment. With Vetel's many diagnostic imaging solutions, you'll never have to say the words "I don't know" about a patient.